Formula E – Punta del Este ePrix – Qualifying: Pole Position for Vergne!

Great weather in Punta del Este for the qualifying session of the third round of the Formula E World Championship.

Group 1

The light turns green, and it’s Daniel Abt who is the first to set off. He records a 1:16.430 but is immediately beaten by Jean-Eric Vergne by less than two-tenths. At the end of this first attempt, the two men are ahead of Heidfeld, Trulli, and Chandhok.

In his second attempt, Vergne shows aggression and flirts with the track’s walls – to the point of touching them – and improves his time by two-tenths to 1:16.003. Trulli and Heidfeld fall short by 220 thousandths of a second from the Frenchman, Chandhok and Abt by four-tenths. In the final attempt, the Andretti driver sets the fastest absolute sectors and achieves 1:15.408, relegating his opponents to more than seven-tenths behind.

Vergne – 1:15.408

Trulli – 1:16.144

Hiedfeld – 1:16.225

Abt – 1:16.374

Chandhok – 1:16.416

Group 2

The second group is that of the two e.dams, with Buemi immediately taking the lead against his teammate, notably to set the first time. 1:16.013 for the Swiss, already second, six-tenths behind Vergne. It was more difficult for Prost, who came up nine-tenths short of his compatriot. Matthew Brabham, meanwhile, hits the wall and has to return to the pits with a crippled car.

Buemi, in his second attempt, remains behind Vergne but closes in to just under half a second with a complicated final sector. Prost takes advantage to come within a few hundredths of his teammate, taking the provisional 3rd place. Antonio Garcia and Salvador Duran struggle to keep up and are in the last positions.

Last attempt for the e.dams drivers: Prost passes Buemi but not Vergne! The son of the four-time world champion falls three-tenths short of the former Toro Rosso driver.

Prost – 1:15.722

Buemi – 1:15.842

Garcia – 1:17.653

Duran – 1:17.810

Brabham – no time

Group 3

In this group, the winner of the previous round of the Championship, Sam Bird, and Nelson Piquet Jr, who is the first to set a time of 1:18.020, far off the mark on this first attempt. Senna, meanwhile, places in the provisional 5th time. But quickly, the qualification is interrupted after Bird’s accident when he went straight into the wall, with not too much damage.

The session resumes with 6 minutes and 40 seconds on the clock. D’Ambrosio and Felix da Costa haven’t set a time. The Belgian hits the wall that Vergne had touched during the first group and damages his Dragon; he must return. Piquet improves his mark and moves ahead of Senna, who does not improve.

In the final attempt, Piquet gives it his all but falls short by 122 thousandths of a second behind Vergne. Senna doesn’t improve after poor braking at the hairpin. Da Costa, on the other hand, puts in a hyper-aggressive lap, brushing the wall and taking off over the curb at one of the chicanes, but still doesn’t manage to clock a faster time. He remains 10th.

Piquet Jr – 1:15.530

Senna – 1:16.211

Da Costa – 1:16.865

D’Ambrosio – no time

Bird – No Time

Group 4

Last chance for 5 drivers to overtake Jean-Eric Vergne, with a strong contender, the Championship leader Luca di Grassi. The Brazilian clocks in at 1:16.223. Alguersuari does better with 1:16.0 but slightly brushes the wall exiting the final turn. Sarrazin runs in the 1:17s. Cerruti and Servià are beyond the 1-minute 20 mark.

Second attempt for all the drivers, the only improvements to note are for Servia, provisionally 12th, and Sarrazin who spins in one of the last braking zones. So these drivers have only one more attempt to grab the pole. Di Grassi takes 6th place, Alguersuari 5th, and the pole is therefore for Jean-Eric Vergne!